


Coward

by fandomsandxfiles



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fake Marriage, Mutual Pining, Reader-Insert, tony is a little shit sometimes, we're ignoring civil war and on okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-09-23 20:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20346313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandxfiles/pseuds/fandomsandxfiles
Summary: A time travel incident strikes the Avengers Compound when Peggy Carter seemingly walks right out of the past, married and definitely not expecting to see Steve alive.  In order to show her that he has in fact moved on, Steve enlists the help of his best friend to pretend to be his wife until Tony can send everyone home.





	1. Intruders

**Author's Note:**

> I love Agent Carter and I wanted to do a crossover/ see what would happen if Peggy found her way to the 21st century. I'm sorry if the story is a little slow to start out because the reader isn't there yet, but it will get better with the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!!

"Sir, there is a group of people currently walking into the compound that require your assistance," FRIDAY said, jerking Tony awake from his nap. 

"Can't it wait?" 

"Unfortunately, no," FRIDAY responded. "It appears that a young version of Howard Stark and Peggy Carter have found their way to the 21st century." 

"Stop bullshitting me FRIDAY, who is trying to screw with me?” Tony responded, starting a new pot of coffee. 

A holographic image appeared in front of Tony, confirming the seemingly ridiculous event. The coffee mug he was holding shatters on the floor of the lab. 

"Do we tell Steve?" Silence. "You know what never mind that, get them in my lab before someone sees them and causes a riot." 

***

The lab door opened and five people walked into the lab, all looking equally confused. "What is this place?" Peggy is the first to speak. 

"Welcome to 2019," Tony said smugly. "Look I have absolutely no idea how you are here, but we have to figure something out because every time travel movie I've ever watched is telling me this is not a good scenario." 

"And who might you be?" A blond man with a stuck up look on his face asked. 

"Hopefully this won't mess anything up for my future, but my name is Tony. The real pressing matter here is how on earth did you end up here, and what year did you come from? But I do need to know your names or you just get assigned the first thing my brain thinks of." 

"Peggy Carter." 

"Edwin Jarvis."

"Howard Stark." 

"Jack Thompson" said the blond, standing up straighter. "Chief of the SSR." 

"Really Jack," said the brunette, rolling his eyes. "We end up seventy years into the future and you're pulling rank?"

"What, Sousa? You regretting the fact that you gave up being chief for Carter?" 

"Daniel, Jack, settle down," Peggy warned. "We apparently have much bigger problems." 

"Yeah we do," Howard cut in. He had wandered around the room while Sousa and Thompson were arguing. "Where did you get a photo of Captain America from and why does it look real?" 

Tony turned around to see what his father was talking about, and saw the photos of all the avengers strung up on the wall. It had been Y/N's idea to print out photos and hang them up, so naturally the photos on the wall were all of the avengers' silliest moments. The photo that Howard was staring at was no exception. Taken during some random gala, it was a selfie of Y/N and Cap, but Y/N was making a stupid face and Cap was clearly not ready when she took the picture, because his eyes were half closed and his mouth was open. 

"Tony, I need you to check something for-" a new voice entered the lab and every single person turned towards the newcomer. 

"Steve?"

"Peggy?" 

***

"I need a moment," Peggy said, eyes going wide and quickly turning towards Tony. He pointed her towards the bathroom and she fled, Steve still standing at the door in shock. 

After a minute of everyone staring in silence, Daniel spoke up. "I'm going to go see if she's ... okay," he said quietly before walking in the direction Peggy went. 

After another minute of staring, it was Thompson that spoke up. "So wait, he's not actually dead? Where's he been all this time? Hiding?" 

"Frozen, actually," Steve replied coldly. "I wasn't defrosted until about eight years ago, so yeah I was dead until that point. " 

The door opened again and Peggy and Daniel walked back in the room, holding hands. It was then that Steve noticed the matching wedding rings on both of their left hands, and he put two and two together. It broke his heart to see that, but she deserved all the happiness in the world. He just wished that he didn't seem so broken. "Tony, could I talk to you for one second about these forms Fury wants you to check over? Outside?" he said, almost pleadingly. 

The minute the door shut behind them, Steve started to hyperventilate. "How are they here?" he asked. 

"No idea Cap," Tony replied. "But we have to get them back to their rightful time or things will go really bad." 

"Why? Who told you that?" 

"I don't know; Doctor Who?" Tony replied sarcastically. "I've seen enough shows and movies about time travel to know that things like this are never good." 

"Well hurry up and get them back, I don't know how long I can masquerade as a functioning human being around Peggy, especially that she is married. She's going to wonder why I haven't moved on." 

"Then move on already! Because I have absolutely no idea how to send them back to exactly where they came from and it might take a while!" 

"How am I supposed to move on so quickly Tony? Freeze again?"

Tony was silent for a few seconds before getting a scheming look in his eye, worrying Steve ever so slightly. "You get yourself a fake wife and show her that you have moved on! I still have the wedding rings from when Bucky and Y/N had to go undercover as a couple two months ago! Ask her!" 

"I will absolutely not do that Tony, she doesn't need to be dragged into all of this." 

***

"So you're asking me to play your wife because your old flame just showed up in the compound despite there being a seventy year time zone difference and she's married, so you don't want to seem like the weird one who didn't move on?" 

Steve looked sheepish. "Please? Only until Tony sends them home. I just need someone to help me try and move on, okay?" 

You sighed. "I'll do it. You shouldn't have to deal with this by yourself." No, this had nothing to do with your um minor crush on Steve, no it did not. Just a friend helping another friend, that's all it was.


	2. Longing

When he gave you the box, you knew this was going to be difficult. You knew what was inside too. A little while ago, you and Bucky had gone on a mission that required you to pose as newlyweds at a couples' resort in Italy, wedding rings and all. What you weren't expecting was the key to Steve's room along with the ring. You looked at him questioningly and held up the key, which was attached to a Captain America key chain. 

"Stark insists that if were going to quote 'sell this thing,' we'll need to fully commit," Steve said. "Including sleeping in the same room." 

You weren't sure whether to kill Stark or thank him. He was well aware of your little crush on Steve, the observant bastard. And then he told Bucky all about it and both of them became insufferable. It was nice to see them getting along, but it would be even nicer if they found something else to bond over rather than harassing you. 

"Don't worry about it," Steve said, knocking you out of your trance. "We've fallen asleep on the couch together plenty of times. And if you're really uncomfortable, I have a couch that I can sleep on." 

"No Steve it wasn't that. And if you even think I would ever let you sleep on the couch in your own room, you are painfully misinformed, if anything I would take the couch," you said, punching him on the arm lightly. "I was more worried about how we're going to sell this to the others, because you know as well as I do that Peggy is not going be easy to fool." 

***

"Okay everyone, you are here because Steve has gotten himself in quite the pickle," Tony said, standing at the podium in the briefing room of the compound, the other avengers sitting around him, looking mildly confused. 

"It's not my fault that time travel suddenly became our biggest problem," Steve retorted. "But I'm going to need everyone's help." 

"Basically, Steve's first love has accidentally found herself in the twenty first century," Tony began. "But she's married and Capsicle wants to give off the illusion of the fact that he has moved on and is not, quote 'a massive weirdo.' So, for the time being, Cap and Y/N are married. Wedding rings, cutesy dates, you name it. We need your help to actually sell the charade because it would seriously blow the cover if you guys didn't know what was going on." 

"Tony are you trying to enlist the team's help or are you just in this to embarrass me?" You asked, folding your arms across your chest. 

"As nice as it is embarrassing you," Bucky cut in. "This is really to help Steve, everything else that happens is just a happy side effect." 

"Well it is believable to begin with," Sam said, raising his eyebrows at Steve. "There were several bets among compound employees and SHIELD agents when they first arrived as to whether or not Cap and Y/N were dating." 

"Y/N will also be moving into my room for the time being, her room will be used for storage only," Steve said, getting the group back on track. 

"She's moving into your room huh? Y'all are gonna cuddle every night because you're in loooooove?" Bucky said, raising his eyebrows and making a face at Steve. 

You glared at Bucky. "One word. Couch. End of discussion Barnes." 

***

Once everything was all settled with the charade, Steve finally went back to see how Tony was getting along with sending everyone back home. He decided to wear his fake wedding ring on a chain around his neck, this way it wouldn't be weird if Peggy asked why he wasn't wearing a ring on his hand before. Y/N was going to come into the lab a couple minutes after Steve walked in. 

When FRIDAY let you into the lab, you could feel seven pairs of eyes on you. Paying no attention to the five people that are literally from a different time period, you handed some files to Tony and walked over by Steve on your way out. "Don't forget we're going to dinner tonight," you reminded, kissing Steve on the cheek. He nodded and you headed out of the lab, waving to everyone with your left hand so they could see the "wedding" ring. 

While everyone was still confused from what they just witnessed, Steve also waved goodbye and headed out of the lab. He didn't want to be there to answer the questions, but at the same time, did he really trust Tony?

"Who was that?" Peggy asked Tony, her voice even and quiet. 

"Steve's wife, Y/N," Tony said, not looking up from the calibrations he was attempting. After that, the group went weirdly quiet. Suffering through about a half hour of suffocating silence, Peggy asked if there was an area where they could sit down and be more comfortable, so Tony sent them on their way with directions to the main living room. The minute the lab door closed, he texted Steve to let him know what was happening, and received a response almost instantly. It was a photo of Steve and Y/N sitting on the couch, cuddled up together. Y/N was fast asleep and laying on Steve's chest while he watched TV. The caption was "they've got this covered ~Wilson." 

Sam left the minute he heard the door to the main area open, nodding at the group as they walked by. Daniel took one look inside the lounge, and quickly decided to direct Peggy to sit at one of the tables with the rest of the group following. 

Sometime after you fell asleep, Steve also fell asleep, so when you woke up, you wrapped Steve in a blanket and decided to get something to eat. Upon walking out of the lounge area, you saw Peggy, Daniel, Jarvis, Howard, and Jack all sitting at a table, silently staring at each other. "Do you want something to eat or drink?" you asked kindly, startling them a bit. "I'm so sorry we didn't ask sooner, you all must be starving and parched!" You immediately starting rustling around the kitchen, pulling out glasses and pouring water into them for everyone before opening up the cabinets to see what you could do about food. 

"Don't worry about us," Daniel said when you starting pulling every snack food known to man out of the cupboards. "Just something small is fine." 

After setting out some fruit, pretzels, crackers, and cheese for the group you headed back into the lounge to check on Steve. "Let me know if you guys need anything else," you said kindly. "I'm sure this is incredibly exhausting for all of you." 

A small chorus of "thank you" followed you, but the minute you disappeared, Peggy's smile dropped from her face. The rational part of her brain understood that Steve had moved on and that it was completely normal and healthy for him to do so. Hell, she had gone and gotten married. So why did she just feel so sad? Y/N was clearly good for Steve, he looked utterly smitten when she was in the lab before. And she loved Daniel with all her heart, never regretting marrying him for a second. While she was deep in thought, Daniel grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "This will pass," he reassured her. "It's not every day you see your supposedly dead first love and his wife because you somehow accidentally traveled seventy years into the future."


	3. Comfortable

It was getting closer and closer to 11 pm, and Tony was completely stumped. He had absolutely no idea how they got here in the first place, and even less of an idea of how to get them home without completely screwing up the space time continuum or time vortex or whatever he would inevitable ruin. It got a little easier after they left, because Howard would not stop breathing down his neck about whatever he was doing, so he was extremely glad when Peggy asked if there was somewhere they could go to be out of the way. None of them had ever explained how they got to the future either, which was actually kind of weird when he thought about it. But if he knew his father, he was almost definitely messing around with some tech he should have left alone and caused all this. And Tony had a feeling that if that was true, Peggy would be none too pleased with Howard if she found out that he was the reason for all of her stress. 

The only good thing about this strange situation was that Cap might actually admit his feelings for Y/N and they could finally get together. Him and Bucky were getting sick of the longing stares when the other wasn't looking and the fervent denying of any interest in the other party. It had gone on long enough. They didn't technically have to share a room, it's not like Peggy and the group would sleep in the same wing of the compound if they had to stay the night, but Tony liked messing with his friends. And he would be doing Cap and Y/N a huge favor. 

***

When you knocked on Steve's door a little later, wearing your pajamas and carrying a blanket, you just felt strange. It was weird to be playing the role of Steve's wife, despite the fact that you had done the whole fake marriage thing before. But with Bucky it was easier. Maybe it was because that was an official mission not in the compound, and all you guys really did with your free time is eat mozzarella cheese while watching TV with questionable English subtitles. Maybe it was because you didn't have feelings for Bucky like you had feelings for Steve. Maybe it was because in Italy, the people they were fooling didn't know you personally, and they definitely weren't Bucky's first love along with a group of government agents. Hydra's agents are considerably stupider than that and tourists are never an issue when it comes to keeping your cover. 

Steve opened the door and ushered you in. "You didn't have to knock you know," he said, yawning. "I gave you a key for a reason." 

"I know, I just wasn't sure if you were awake or not," you responded. "I didn't want to mess up your normal routine either. But I am kinda tired and I would like to go to bed, but if you're not ready I can always go sleep on the couch," you said, turning towards the couch. 

Before you could take two steps, Steve grabbed your arm. "No way am I letting you sleep on the couch," he said. "I can't treat my wife like that!" 

You rolled your eyes. "That's fake wife to you babe," you said laughing. "And besides we told Bucky that I would be sleeping on your couch."

"Oh shut up, it's the least I can do for dragging you into my strange mess," Steve responded. 

"Yeah I guess." You were just about to ask what side of the bed he preferred when your phone dinged, signaling a text message. "Tony wants to see me in the lab for some reason. I'll just go see what he wants and come right back. Hopefully it's not too long because I'm tired."

Steve smiled. "Leave your stuff here and then go down. I can put your blanket on the bed and anything else you need. Then you can go right to sleep when you come back." 

After handing over your blanket and phone charger, you turned around and headed down to Tony's lab to see whatever he wanted. Hopefully it would be quick. 

***

When you opened the door, you were surprised to see Peggy and everyone back in the lab. Suddenly hoping you were still wearing the ring, you quick glanced down and check and held back a sigh of relief when it was still on your finger. You thought about how natural it felt on your finger, but quickly pushed that thought aside when Tony opened his mouth. 

"Can you take our guests to the guest wing next to the team's hallway? Unfortunately I am no closer to figuring out how to send them home and they are very tired," Tony said, looking at me with tired eyes himself. 

"Of course, and I'll show them where to get pajamas and stuff," I said, looking at the suits that all the men were wearing and the blazer and skirt that Peggy was sporting. "You won't want to sleep in those clothes," you said to them. "We have plenty of stuff for you." While everyone stepped out of the room, you turned to Tony. "You should get some sleep too mister. I'm sure they will understand if you take a break to sleep," you said exasperatedly, knowing Tony most likely won't take your advice. 

He waved you off with a look and a muttered "yeah yeah, whatever." 

Turning to the group, you motioned them to follow you and headed over to the guest wing where they would be staying. "There are clothes and pajamas in all the rooms for both men and women, because we never really know who's going to be staying where, so that shouldn't really be an issue," you began, "but let me know if there's anything that you need if something is too small or whatever. I'll hang out a little bit after in the kitchen just down the other end of this hall so if you need me, just let me know and I'll grab you something else. It's the room you were in before." 

***

After showing everyone to their own rooms (with the exception of Peggy and Daniel) and waiting around to see if anyone needed anything, you finally headed back to Steve's room, ready to collapse into bed. When you opened the door, Steve was in bed but sitting up, scrolling on his phone. "Hey," he said softly. "What did Tony want?" 

"I just had to show everyone to the guest wings because Tony still can't figure out how to get them home right now," you said, lifting the covers and climbing under. 

"Well hopefully they can go back soon," Steve said, turning off the light and laying down. 

"Yeah." 

After a few moments of silence, you spoke up again. "You're a coward, you know that Rogers?" 

"What?" he said, just a little bit sleepier. 

"You're kind of a coward with this whole marriage charade, ya know? I get why you're doing it, but I can't help but thinking we're just making everything worse." 

"Then why did you agree?" 

"I felt bad for you, you didn't ask to be put in this situation. You needed someone to lean on," you responded. "But there is potential for disaster here." 

He sighed. "I know I'm a coward Y/N, and I'm sorry for dragging you into this." 

"It's cool. I'll just con you into doing something for me soon." 

The conversation ended there, with you quickly falling asleep. Steve looked over at you snoring softly a little while later and couldn't help but thinking, 'yeah I am a coward Y/N. But it's not in the way you're thinking,' and soon drifted off himself, unknowingly moving closer to you while he slept.


	4. Understanding

Waking up in Steve's room was different. He had light filtering blinds for one, so whenever the sun rose, the room was flooded with light, whereas you kept your room as dark as possible, allowing optimal napping conditions on the brightest of days. When you opened your eyes, the first thing you noticed was the offending sunlight streaming into the room. The second thing you noticed was a heavy arm draped over you, holding you in place in the bed. You shifted slightly and turned around to see Steve, fast asleep and spooning you, holding you tightly as he slept. As nice as this felt, you knew it was an accident and that there was no way he had feelings for you. And if it wasn't an accident, it wasn't his fault. Tony or Bucky must have snuck into the room and moved him while he slept just to embarrass you guys and make things awkward. Still, it did feel nice, so what was the harm of staying like this for a little bit longer and trying to fall back asleep? You glanced at the clock on your nightstand. 7:00 am. Stupid light filtering shades. There is no way on earth you would be caught dead out of bed until after 9:00 at the earliest. So you did what any self respecting person in your situation would do: snuggled closer to Steve and fell back asleep. 

A little bit after you fell back asleep, Steve opened his eyes, immediately noticing the fact that he was cuddling you like a teddy bear, and that you were snuggled in his embrace, breathing softly. He wished that you guys could stay like that forever, because he loved holding you but was too cowardly to tell you how he actually felt. Truth be told, he was getting over Peggy, and the fact that she was here in the future (and happily married) only sped up the process. Being fake married was almost taunting him at this point, showing him what he could have if he only were a little braver. Steve Rogers could jump out of planes with no parachute any day of the week, but admitting to Y/N how he felt about her was one jump he didn't think he could ever take. In order to preserve the moment and lose himself in the lie a little bit, Steve closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

It was 9:30 when you woke up again, cursing the light and realizing that Steve was still spooning you. As much as you would have stayed in that moment forever, you quietly slipped out of his embrace and walked quietly out of the room and towards the kitchen, ready for a morning cup of coffee. 

***

On any normal day, no one was in the kitchen when you walked out in the morning, still tired and kinda broody, so it worked out that you didn't have to talk to anyone until you got some food and/or caffeine in your system. God help anyone who tried to talk to you in the morning normally. So when the kitchen was empty, you breathed a sigh of relief. You were in a slightly better mood this morning (not because of the snuggling, not at all), but you didn't want to have anyone test your patience either way. 

You were halfway through your enormous mug of coffee when the door of the kitchen opened and Daniel Sousa hobbled in, accidentally hitting his crutch on the closing door and startling you. "Sorry," he said when he noticed you shooting up in your seat. 

"Don't worry about it," you said quietly. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to come in here." 

"I can go if you'd like," he offered. 

"No no!" you said quickly, shaking your head. "You don't have to, I'll be done with my coffee in a few minutes and then I'll get out of your hair." 

"I can't make you do that, you live here," he said. "How about no one leaves? Besides I have no idea where anything is in this kitchen and I'm definitely going to need help." 

He seemed okay for a little bit, successfully putting two slices of bread in the toaster, but it was the coffee machine that took him down. Sighing, he turned around, where you were trying to stifle your laughter by hiding behind your coffee mug. "Don't break the coffee machine!" you said, getting up to help him. "At this point my blood is like fifty percent coffee and I would literally die without it." 

When the coffee was ready, you filled up a mug for Daniel, who had taken the seat across from you. Handing him the mug you went back to your own cup of coffee, tuning out the world a bit until you heard him clear his throat. He was staring at the mug you gave him questioningly, and it wasn't until you realized that he didn't know the mug situation that you understood why he was so confused. Your mug, along with the mug he was holding had the symbol of Steve's shield on the front of it. "Don't ask," you said. "Every single mug we have has that design. Tony likes making Steve uncomfortable and spending money on ridiculous things. This just happened to tick both of those boxes." 

Daniel nodded and went back to his breakfast in silence. You finished your coffee and was just putting the mug in the dishwasher when he spoke up again. "Thank you for all your help since we've been here by the way. And I'm sorry if Peggy has been a bit short with you, and if anyone else has made you feel weird by us being here. It's a lot to take in, the fact that we somehow ended up seventy years into the future." 

"Don't worry about it," you responded kindly. "I know that this must be incredibly strange for all of you, Peggy in particular, to see Steve alive again, but he is married and moved on. I don't blame her at all, and I hope she knows that. This is a incredibly strange situation, especially for the future. And I know Steve has been hurting too, so I can assure you she's not the only one having a hard time." Once you closed the dishwasher, you headed out the glass door, right as Peggy, Jarvis, Howard, and Jack were heading in. 

You held the door for them. "I showed Daniel how to use the coffee maker, and he knows how to use the toaster, but if you need anything else come find me in the gym," you told them before heading off to get changed for a quick morning jog. You heard the cabinet door open and the coffee mugs clink, as if someone was getting mugs out. There was a silence and you heard Daniel mutter, " just don't ask" as you walked away. 

***

After your short jog on the treadmill, you headed back out into the lounge to watch TV. The kitchen was empty, so everyone must have gone to see how Tony was doing with sending them home or something. When you stepped into the lounge, Steve and Bucky were channel surfing. You took a spot next to Steve and he wrapped his arms around you as Bucky made a fake retching noise. 

"You guys are ridiculous, you know that?" Bucky was aware of how you both felt towards each other, and he was tired of the longing stares. He was determined to get you guys together, even if it killed him. 

"Shut up Bucky," you said, rolling your eyes. "Maybe if you weren't lonely, you'd be nicer to us." 

Bucky scoffed in response. "Whatever floats your boat Y/N. I'm gonna leave now before you guys get even worse." 

After he left, you stretched your legs out on the couch, practically laying on Steve as he lazily flipped through channels. After deciding to watch some random documentary, you fell asleep again. Five minutes after you closed your eyes, Sam walked into the lounge and stared and you and Steve on the couch. "Is she ever awake?" he asked Steve. "Or does she just sleep for 23 hours a day?" 

"She's just tired Sam, leave her be," Steve said, looking down at you fondly. 

"Whatever Romeo," Sam said, turning around to leave. "But do us all a favor and just tell her how you feel, we can't handle the tension anymore." 

Steve rolled his eyes as Sam left. He didn't have to take any of his friends' advice, because he knew it would just end in heartbreak. She just didn't feel the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I keep saying that every chapter is the second to last chapter, but every time I sit down to write I end up with longer chapters than I planned and I never fit in all the events I plan. We are approaching the end of the story though, with hopefully only one chapter left, but there could be two, depending on how I'm feeling I guess. Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story!


	5. Truthful

Two nights. That's how long Peggy, Daniel, Howard, Jarvis, and Jack have been staying at the Avengers compound. And you had no idea how much longer it was going to be. You didn't blame Tony at all for having issues sending them back to their rightful time period, because it's not like you could have done any better. But that didn't make interacting with them any less awkward. Especially since they all thought you and Steve were married. Interacting with Peggy was especially awkward. You could tell that Steve still held a huge piece of her heart and the fact that she had come to terms with Steve as dead when he apparently wasn't was a big thing for her to process. It's not like she was mean to you or anything, but interactions were kept short and sweet, if she even spoke to you at all. You mostly spoke with Daniel and Jack, helping them as much as you could to adjust to the world a little. You could tell that they were overwhelmed and they wanted to go back to what they knew. 

There was a little persistent thought in the back of your head: what if Tony never found a way to send them back? What if they just had to assimilate to the world because there was no way to get them back to their own time period? And the whole time, you had to pretend to be married to Steve? You didn't know if you could live the lie for that long without spontaneously combusting. But you couldn't just tell them. You couldn't just walk up to them right after Tony told them there wasn't a way to get them home and be like "yeah by the way Steve and I aren't actually married." You just couldn't do that.

But being "married" to Steve had its positives. Every time you watched TV in the lounge, you could just go over to where Steve was and lay down, cuddling him. When you were cooking in the kitchen, Steve would walk up behind you and wrap his arms around you and putting his chin on your shoulder. No questions were asked by the rest of the team and no one really made fun of you guys because they were aware of the stakes. As much as you denied it to the rest of the team, if there was a way that you could keep this relationship dynamic with Steve after Peggy went back (but without the inevitable awkward beginning of a relationship stuff) you would absolutely jump at the chance. But there was no way that could ever happen, because he didn't feel that way for you. To him, you were never going to be anything more than a caring best friend who helped him out during an undesirable situation. 

***

The third morning of them staying at the compound, you had woken up yet again in Steve's arms, and had to once again quietly shuffle out of bed so not to wake him. Once you made it to the kitchen, you were relieved to find it empty, and settled into the routine of making a morning cup of coffee. You had just sat down with the steaming mug in your hands when the door to the kitchen opened. This really didn't bother you that much, because pretty much everyone on the team knew the rule about not talking to you in the morning, and the visitors never really bothered you unless something was really wrong. You continued to drink you coffee in your morning trance, not really paying attention to who was in the room with you until a voice spoke, jolting you back to the present. 

You looked up from your coffee to see Peggy sitting across from you. "Can I talk to you?" she asked softly.

You nodded slowly, not sure what she was going to say to you. "Of course Peggy. What do you need?" 

"I wanted to apologize if I've made you feel bad or anything like that since I've been here" she began. "Daniel brought it to my attention that I haven't been the most polite, and I wanted to change that." 

Just a little bit shocked at what she had to say, you nodded again. "Your actions are completely understandable Peggy. You would never thought in a million years that this is something that you would have to deal with and it is overwhelming. I'm not going to hold that against you." 

She smiled. "Thank you Y/N. You're right, I would have never in a million years guessed that this would ever happen to me. I had come to terms with the fact that Steve was dead, and it took me a while, but I moved on. It was such a huge shock that we somehow ended up in the future in the first place, that my brain was having trouble processing the fact that Steve is alive, and that he has a completely different life. But I know that he is happy in this life." 

You gave her a look. "I think some of that might be a front," you said softly. "The future isn't all rainbows and smiles." 

"I know that," she said. "Tony told me that you guys had to save the world a few times. But I can tell that Steve is happy because he has you to support him." 

Your heart started racing a little faster. You guys weren't married, but here you were, nodding blankly and trying not to give anything away. "He has all of us to support him," you began. "Not just-" 

"But you will always support him, no matter what," she said. "I can tell that you love him, and it is painfully obvious that he loves you, and you will support him not only because you are married, but because you believe in him." 

Except for the part about you guys being married and Steve being madly in love with you, she was right. You loved Steve, and you would follow him into any battle he asked you to. 

***

After your conversation over coffee, Peggy became much brighter around everyone. She was starting to come to terms with the strange reality that she now faced, and had decided to try and make the most of it. She no longer stayed in the guest room all day, but was out more in the common areas. 

One afternoon, about two days after your conversation with Peggy, Tony came busting into the lounge, startling you and Steve. You guys were just hanging out on the couch, you laying across the couch with your lower legs and feet across Steve's lap, who was flipping through the channels on the TV. He effectively scared the shit out of you, and you almost tumbled off the couch in fright. "I've got it!" 

"Got what?" Steve asked grumpily, holding onto your legs so you didn't fall off the couch. "Unless it's pizza, I don't really care." 

"Oh I think you will care Capsicle," Tony said, almost jumping up and down with excitement. "I cracked the code! We can send the peanut gallery back to the Cold War where they belong!" 

"Well then let's get on with it!" You said, jumping up to follow Tony into his lab.

"So you can actually send us home?" Daniel said. "You're definitely sure that you can send us back?" 

"Yes Danny Boy I can," Tony said, pulling up different screens in his lab and setting the time to the correct year. "I don't know what is going to happen to you when you get home though." 

"What?" Jack said. 

"What I mean is that I'm not sure if you will retain your memory of these events when you're back in your own time period. There's a chance you won't remember what happened, but there is also a chance that you will. So, if you do happen to remember your experiences here, you cannot tell anyone about what you saw. It is of the utmost importance that no one else knows of these experiences because the results can be disastrous." 

***

That night, you were laying down on the couch in the lounge, feeling strangely empty. Peggy and everyone else were successfully sent home, and everything was back to normal. You looked down at the fake wedding ring on your finger and realized that you would no longer have to wear it every day. Tired, you decided to just take a little nap before having to face Steve and talk about everything that had happened since Peggy and her friends showed up in the 21st century. Before you know it, you were fast asleep. 

When Steve walked into the lounge and noticed you fast asleep on the couch, he wasn't sure what he should do about it. You guys no longer had to pretend like you were married, but he genuinely enjoyed faking a relationship with you, because everyone who told him that he was in love with Y/N was right, and he was just too much of a coward to do anything about it. Turning off the TV, he decided to gently pick up your sleeping body and bring it to his room, because he didn't know if you locked your door and if you did, he didn't have the key. And honestly, at that point he had gotten used to sleeping in bed beside you, and absolutely did not want to stop. He quietly snuck into his room without any of his friends seeing him, and once tucking you into bed, got ready and laid down beside you. 

'If only', he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will actually be the last i promise!!


	6. Loving

You didn't remember exactly how you fell asleep the night after Peggy and everyone else were transported back to their correct time period, but it definitely wasn't in Steve's arms. But that's where you were right now and you didn't know whether to celebrate or worry. Turning slightly to look at him, you breathed a sigh of relief when you realized he was still sleeping peacefully. The clock said 8:30, but you didn't really want to get up at all. Every time that you have woken up with Steve spooning you, you have always slipped out of bed before he woke up. It was always for your stupid reasons, because emotionally you didn't know if you could handle waking up at the same time as him, because then you would never want to stop being fake married. 

But, you reasoned with yourself, this is the last time that this would ever be a situation for you, so you might as well take full advantage of it. Mentally rolling your eyes, you decided to indulge yourself for once and go back to sleep. 

When you reopened your eyes again, the weight across your body was gone. You didn't have to roll over to realize that Steve was no longer in bed. You immediately started to freak out a little before realizing that this was Steve must have dealt with every day when you would sneak into the kitchen for coffee before he woke up. Not trying to freak out too much, you headed out to the kitchen. 

Surprisingly, Steve was sitting out there, drinking a cup of coffee at the table. When he saw you walk into the kitchen, he smiled and pointed to the counter, where there was a steaming mug of coffee sitting on the counted, fixed exactly the way you like it. Settling into a seat across from Steve, you smiled and thanked him for the coffee. Staring off into nothing, you might have started to space out a little. 

"Y/N," he said after a little while, breaking the comfortable silence. "Earth to Y/N."

"Huh?" you said, bringing your brain back to the present. "What is it Steve?" 

He laughed a little bit. "I never got to truly thank you for helping me out and pretending to be my wife. I honestly don't know if I could have handled that entire situation if you weren't there to help me." 

"Don't worry about it Steve," you said quickly. "You needed help- I wasn't going to leave you hanging in an awful situation." 

"Regardless, I still want to thank you for helping me," he continued. "I have two tickets to a cooking class that Bucky gave me last week. It's for tomorrow night, so would you like to come with me? We can get food before and just get away from the meatheads at the compound for a little." 

You thought about it: this was absolutely not a date. This was just a way for a friend to thank another friend for helping them out in a sticky situation. "I'll go, but you have to tell me why Bucky had access to cooking class tickets, because I'm sorry but that is the funniest thing I've heard today! He obviously hasn't been going to any classes because otherwise we wouldn't have had to replace the microwave last week when he blew it up," you said, laughing. 

Steve smiled. "The tickets were given to Bucky by Sam after he blew up the microwave, but since Bucky is a stubborn idiot, he refused to go to the class and gave the tickets to me." 

"Of course he did," you said, laughing harder. "But he really does need to learn to cook or he's going to blow up the entire compound one day." 

***

Bucky was either a genius or an extremely lucky bastard. Because when you walked into the cooking class with Steve the next day, you definitely did not want to be there. It was a couples' cooking class. Aside from the giant banner hanging over the teacher's cooking station, every table was occupied with lovey-dovey couples hugging or nuzzling each other. One couple all the way in the back who were making out, which made you feel like you were in the hallways of high school again. Making a mental note to kill Bucky if he knew about this, you and Steve settled into a station in the middle of the room and the class began. 

***

"As much as I hate to say this, we need to do this again," you laughed, getting into the car after the class finished. "You are a horrible cook!" 

"Hey!" he scoffed, shutting the driver side door and starting the car. "It was an accident!" 

"Sure Steve," you said, giving him a look. "You 'accidentally' burned our chicken beyond repair and almost lit our station on fire, and it wasn't at all because you wanted the couple next to us to leave us alone."

"Alright fine," he gave in. "I just wanted to have a night without being Captain America, and them constantly asking me about my 'Avengering' was going kinda changed the tone of the night. So I just turned up the heat a little bit," he said with a wicked smile. 

"You're ridiculous!" you responded laughing at him. 

When the car pulled back up to the compound, both of you were almost in tears from laughing so hard. Steve pulled into the parking garage and once everything was settled, you guys headed back up to your rooms. 

"Wait," he said right before you got on the elevator. You turned towards him and he gently pressed his lips to yours, smiling into the kiss. 

You immediately kissed back, and when you pulled away, you asked, "So where did that come from?" 

"The first night that Peggy and everyone had to stay at the compound, you told me that I was a coward right before going to bed, and I didn't dispute that. But I want you to know that you were wrong about why I was a coward. I could have handled the situation with Peggy, and yes I didn't want to, but I could have. But I have fallen in love with you and I couldn't tell you about it, and when the opportunity presented itself, I created a situation where I could have everything that I wanted with you, but without the embarrassment of having to tell you how I felt. But now that she's back where she's supposed to be I was going to lose everything I craved so much. I loved waking up every morning and holding you, and I never want that to stop. And although I didn't know that this was going to be a couple's cooking class, I think sometimes the universe has a way of showing you that you need to get your act together, you know?" 

With a whispered "I love you too," you kissed him again. 

***

Tony was shuffling towards the kitchen the next morning, tired and craving a gigantic mug of coffee. What he was greeted with was objectively much better than that. Y/N and Steve were kissing. Standing over the coffee machine, which Tony so desperately needed, these two hooligans were kissing. But he didn't really care so much about coffee anymore. 

"BARNES! WAKE YOUR ASS UP BEFORE I BREAK THIS DOOR!" Tony yelled, banging on Bucky's door. 

"What do you want Stark?" Bucky asked, disgruntled and grumpy from being woken up. "This better be worth it." 

"Oh it is," Tony said, smiling. "So I fell asleep in my lab last night and I was still so tired this morning when I woke up-" 

"Get on with it," Bucky said grumpily. "I want to know why you woke me."

"So I headed over to the kitchen to get a giant mug of coffee and I saw something crazy." 

"What?" 

"Steve and Y/N." 

"What about them? It's their kitchen too." 

"They were kissing." 

"You're shitting me." Bucky raised his eyebrows. 

"I am offended Barnes. I am absolutely not shitting you." 

"You know what we have to do now right?" 

"Annoy the crap out him?" 

"Absolutely." 

***

Epilogue (1 year later, or actually 70 years ago)

"Peggy, wake up," a gentle voice startled her and Peggy woke up to the sun streaming through her blinds and Daniel's soft voice. "It's almost 10." 

"Sorry," Peggy said, sitting up. "I was having the weirdest dream."

"What was it about?" Daniel said kindly. 

"Steve was alive," Peggy said, shaking her head. "And he was married and everyone was there with us, even Thompson." 

"That is crazy Peg," Daniel said, sitting down next to her on the bed. "But it can't be crazier than the dream I had the other night about us ending up in the future." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, and unfortunately, Thompson was there with us too." 

"Wow, I guess we are just crazy."

"Apparently."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so that's the end of this story! I want to say thank you to everyone who read the story and enjoyed it! This was my first Marvel Fanfic and I couldn't be prouder of how it turned out. Please let me know what you thought of this story, because getting feedback is not only really uplifting, but it will help me craft the next few marvel fics I’m currently planning. Thank you!


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